Boat.



G. W. RICHARDSON.

BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. i916.

1,220,558. Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

G. W. RICHARDSON .BOAT. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. 1916.

" 'l ll I" Patented Mar. 27, 1917. I

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. W. RICHARDSON.

BOAT.

APPLICATION EILED JAN- 26; |9I6- 1,220,558. Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I awuwwtoz G 14 R z cicard sozc I parallel and GEORGE W. RICHARDSON, OFSOUTH HERO, VERMONT.

BOAT.

W Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Application filed January 26, 1916. Serial No. 74,375.

To all whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, GEORGE 'W. Bron/Ann-SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Hero, in thecounty of Grand Isle and State of Vermont, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Boats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in boats and moreparticularly to the hull construction, the primary object of myinventionbeing the provision of a boat which will encounter the least possiblewater resistance and which will be of light draft for its size andweight.

A still further object of my invention consists in constructing a boathull of the above described character in such a manner that the fasterthe boat is going the less its draft will be.

In accomplishing the above objects I construct a boat hull havingsubstantially vertical sides and a flat bottom curved upwardlyat itsends, the sides of the boat being provided at their ends with forwardlyand rearwardly projecting extensions or wings. Because of thisconstruction, I accomplish a still further object, namely, the provisionof a boat hull of such a type as to prevent the setting up of sidewaves. For this reason, my boat is particularly adapted for use innarrow or shallow streams so that it will not interfere with other boatsand will not wash the banks of the stream as ordinary boats do becauseof the setting upof side waves.

A still further object of my invention consists in providing the side ofthe boat with downwardly directed extensions projecting not onlythroughout the entire length of the boat but throughout the length ofthe wings and forming in eifect bilge keels of substantially the samedepth as the main keel which extends longitudinally of the center of theboat. Because of this arrangement, the boat, if grounded, will rest upona comparatively even keel and will will not turn over. 7 5

A still further object of my invention consists in the provision of asuperstructure upon the prow of the boat in the form of a wedge shapedwave breaker in order that in rough water the wave may not offer toogreat a resistance to the progress of the boat.

Obviously, this superstructure may be omitted from boats intended foruse in land locked waters.

1th these and other objects in View, my invention will be more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and thenspecifically pointed out in the claims which are attached to and form apart of this application.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a boat hull constructed in accordancewith my invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the hull shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the hull;

Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical transverse sectional views taken on thesection lines H and 5-5, respectively, of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a somewhat modified form of ship hullconstruction, particularly adapted for use in the building ofbattleships;

Fig. 7 is a corresponding View of a still further modified form of hullconstruction;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bow of a still furtherform of hull construction.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

As will be best seen by reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, myimproved boat hull issubstantially rectangular in shape includingparallel spaced side walls 10 connected by a horizontal bottom wall 11,the rear end of which curves upwardly somewhat, as at 12 to merge withthe rear wall or stern and the forward end of which is curved upwardly,as shown at 13 to merge with the vertical front or bow wall 14 whichextends at right angles between the side walls with its lower edgelocated at substantially the water line of the boat when the latter isnormally loaded. The side walls 10, at substantially the water line, areprovided throughout the greater portion of their length with outwardlyprojecting ribs or buffers 15 which protect the boat from injury byrubbing against what-"es or other boats 'and which also serve, to someextent,

proved to check rolling of the boat in rough water. As clearly shown inthe drawings, the lower edges of the side walls 10 project below thebottomwall 11 and the ends of the side walls are extended at the frontand rear of the boat to provide wings 16, the free ends of which aresubstantially vertical. These downwardly extending edges of the sidewalls of the boat hull in effect form bilge keels and the flat portionof the bottom 11 of the hull is preferably provided centrally with alongitudinally extending main keel 17 which may be of the same depth asthe bilge keels or which, as in the case of the drawings, may besomewhat deeper.

The upwardly curved forward end 13 of the bottom of the hull may beprovided in longitudinal alinement with the main keel 17 with a V-shapedgroove 18 in order that water rushing through this groove may, to acertain extent, have the same effect upon the movement of the hulllaterally through the water as would a keel. Preferably, however, themain keel 17 is extended at its forward end to provided a Win 19 whichcorresponds in shape and size to the forward wings of the bilge keels.This manner of extending the main keel is clearly shown in Fig. 8 of thedrawings, the construction of the hull shown in such figure, with thisdistinction, being identical with that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings.

From the foregoing description of my imboat hull, it will be clear thatmovement of the boat through the water will not cause any forcing of thewater away from the sides of the boat as the sides of the hull arevertical and parallel throughout their entire extent. On the other hand,all water disturbed by the passage of the boat is in effect forceddownwardly beneath the bottom of the boat and tends to lift the boathigher in the water, thereby decreasing its draft and also decreasingthe resistance which it oifers to the water. Because of this taking inof the water at the bow and discharging it at the stern, all side washor set ting up of side waves is prevented. This is an important feature,particularly if the boat is to be employed upon rivers or canals as theside wash is oftentimes dangerous to smaller boats and, in canals, tendsto break down and destroy the banks.

If the boat is to be employed in large bodies of water where the waveswill run high, it may be provided with what 1 term a wave breaker whichis indicated as a whole by the numeral 20, being best shown in Figs. 1and 2 of the drawings. This wave breaker is wedge-shaped in horizontalsection, has its bottom wall 21 horizontally disposed at substantiallythe water level of the boat and has downwardly and outwardly divergingtop walls 22. The rear of the wave breaker of course projects betweenthe spaced forward wings 16 being integral with or secured to the frontwall of the boat and the forward portion of the wave breaker extends aconsiderable distance in advance of the wings as clearly shown in Fig.2. As will be readily understood, with this wave breaker any wavesstriking the boat head on wiill be split and the water deflected to thes1 es.

The above boat may, obviously, be driven in any of the ways now incommon use, such as by propeller wheels disposed at the sides of thehull or by a screw propeller such as shown in the drawings at 25. Arudder may be of the hull, at the center of the stern and bow of thehull or two rudders may be secured one to the rear end of each of thewings 16, as shown'at 26 in Figs. 1 and 2. Preferably, at least tworudders are employed to facilitate turning of the hull in a relativelyshort distance and in many instances I find it advisable to employ fourrudders, as shown at 26 in Fig. 7 of the drawings, free edge of each ofthe wings at the front and rear of the boat. With the exception that theboat shown in Fig, 7 is provided with four rudders, the hullconstruction there shown is the same as that previously described.Forward rudders'somedisposed at the center of the stern a rudder beingmounted upon the what smaller than the rear rudders may be 7 employedwith boats having wave breakers if desired.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a somewhat modified form of construction inwhich the front and rear wings 27 and 28, respectively,

are extended forwardly and rearwardly to a greater extent at their loweredges in order that the forward wings may in effect form a double ramand the rear wings an ample guard for the propeller. Otherwise,

the general design of the hull shown in Fig.

be apparent that with a main principle of my invention, namely, the

provision of a boat hull having substantially vertical parallel sidewalls extending beyond the ends of the hull to provide wings and havinga bottom wall curved upwardly at its ends and spaced somewhat above thelower edges of the side walls. For this reason I reserve the right tomake any changes within the scope of the appended claims without in theslightest degree departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A boat hull including vertical, parallel side walls, a bottom walldisposed between the side walls and at a level above the lower edges ofthe side walls, the side walls being extended at their forward ends toprovide wings and the bottom wall being curved upwardly at its ends, endwalls disposed between the side walls and connected to the upcurved endsof the bottom wall and spaced inwardly from the free edges of the wings,and a wave breaker disposed between the upper portions of the forwardwings.

2. A boat hull including vertical, parallel side walls, a bottom walldisposed between the side walls and at a level above the lower edges ofthe side walls, the side walls being extended at their forward ends toprovide wings and the bottom wall being curved upwardly at its ends, endwalls disposed between the side walls and connected to the upcurved endsof the bottom wall and spaced inwardly from the free edges of the wings,and a wave breaker disposed between the upper portions of the forwardwings,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe said wave breaker being wedge-shaped horizontally and having a fiathorizontal bottom wall and downwardly and outwardly diverging top walls.

8. A 'boat hull including substantially vertical and parallel sidewalls, a bottom wall disposed between the side walls and at a levelabove the lower edges of the side walls, the side walls being extendedat their forward ends to provide wings and thebottom wall being curvedupwardly at its ends, and a wave breaker disposed between the upperportions of the wings and extending in advance thereof.

4;. A boat hull including substantially vertical and parallel sidewalls, a bottom wall disposed between the side walls and at a levelabove the lower edges of the side walls, the side walls being extendedat their forward ends to provide wings and the bottom wall being curvedupwardly at its ends, and a wave breaker disposed between the upperportions of the wings and extending in advance thereof, said wavebreaker having downwardly and rearwardly diverging upper walls.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

GEORGE W. RICHARDSON. [In 5.]

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

